VIDEO: WARRINGTON Town bowed out of the FA Trophy with a 2-0 home defeat to National League North side AFC Fylde.
The visitors, more than 40 places above Town in the football pyramid, proved too strong for Shaun Reid’s men, scoring a goal in either half to secure their place in the next round.
In the wet and windy conditions, Fylde started the game strongly, with right winger Matty Hughes looking dangerous and providing a few headaches for Town left-back Alex McQuade.
A teasing cross from Hughes created the first opening, James Hardy poking wide and over at the back post.
Town goalkeeper Karl Wills got down well to make the first save on 15 minutes, pushing away a low left-footed drive from Fylde captain Danny Rowe from a short free-kick.
Fylde were certainly imposing their authority on the game, though Town managed to rally briefly in the middle of the first half without creating too much in the terms of chances.
Wills punched well from under his own crossbar and then pulled off a superb save, tipping wide Dion Charles’ curling left foot shot after a interchange from Fylde in the build-up.
As half time neared, Fylde continued to turn the screw. Rowe’s header skimmed off the crossbar and then Hughes lifted the ball over Wills, Ally Brown and Daniel O’Donnell left the ball for each other, before Brown somehow managed to block the ball on the line.
You felt a goal was coming, and the visitors duly obliged on the stroke of half time when left-back Danny Lloyd tidily finished with his left-foot from the left hand side of the box.
It wasn’t what Reid would have wanted going in to the dressing room at half time and it was nearly made worse in the opening stages of the second half, Wills getting down well to save with his legs from Hughes.
Town, who entered the game on a run of 15 wins and a draw in their last 17 games, weren’t going to roll over and started to fight their way back in to the game.
Danny Ventre’s kick exposed the first signs of weakness in the Fylde defence, as both Ben Deegan and James McCarten saw efforts blocked, and then Scott Metcalfe’s curling free kick was beaten away by Fylde ‘keeper Matt Urwin.
But Fylde dealt the killer blow 17 minutes from time, when a low ball from the left found its way across the edge of the box for Caspar Hughes to bury in the top corner.
That made Warrington’s task doubly difficult, especially given the conditions, and the National League North promotion chasers closed the game out to secure their place in the FA Trophy first round.
Warrington are scheduled, once again, to travel to Ramsbottom United on Tuesday night to start their defence of the Doodson Sport Cup – a game which has been called off on each of the last three Tuesdays due to a waterlogged pitch.
PICTURES JOHN HOPKINS
Warrington Town: Wills, Brown, McQuade, Ventre (Wharton), McCarten, O’Donnell, Gahgan (Lester), Burke, Kilheeney (Rudge), Deegan, Metcalfe. Unused subs: Robinson, Turner.
AFC Fylde: Urwin, Hughes, Lloyd, Langley, Roscoe, Marrow, Charles (Gregory), Kay (Sloane), Rowe, Hughes, Hardy (Mullen). Unused subs: Dawson.
